The Game of School is something that I not only witnessed this semester but also participated in the past. Between students copying homework assignments to only get the grade, or having their iPod in to make it only seem like they were listening, sometimes there was a definite avoidance of learning seen in the classroom. Overall, the Game of School can be played by both teachers and students, and can also be stopped by a lot of hard work and attention to learning.
When I was in high school phones did not have Internet readily available yet. Texting was the new “thing” though and teachers were constantly yelling at us to stop and to put our phones away. All of these phones had hard loud buttons and sometimes a flip screen, which would make noise when you opened it, but none of this stopped us. Eventually we learned to type while looking up and holding the screen at an angle so they could not see the glow. Also, we began messaging each other pictures of the homework sheets so we could finish it during lunch period easier. I also remember in high school I had one teacher who gave us check marks on every assignment. My friend wrote something along the lines of “and then Jay Z and Justin Timberlake became presidents” in one of her assignments and the teacher did not notice, she still got a check. This really showed me that the assignments did not matter, and I filled out the rest of them with as little effort as needed.
I see some of the same things happening in class today. Surprisingly, there is very little texting. I mainly see twitter-ing, facebook-ing, and even pinterest-ing to distract the students from the classroom. Phones are not supposed to be used in school, for social or Internet purposes. The science classroom I am in has computers surrounding the room to connect to the Internet. Also I witnessed students incorrectly filling out their homework. They will have the teacher check their sheet, and pass it to another student who will write their name on top and pretend it is theirs. They often get caught, but I wonder how many times a class this occurs? I believe that Westerly High School definitely fits some of the stereotypes in the GOS, as explained above. Though the students that I observe are in the 9th grade, I believe that they are catching onto the game quickly.
I stopped playing the GOS when I realized that my future was depending on my grades. I was talking to my cousin, who had just been rejecting from all of his top 4 colleges, who told me he wished he just tried harder his freshman year in high school. His average was a 94 and that was not good enough for him. This was my wake up call. I was always a high B’s student, but after hearing how having a 94 average can still hold you back from your dreams, I began to work harder. I hope to somehow help the students to understand that although school may seem like a game, only pretending to learn really does affect you in the long run. You need to pour the foundation before you build a house, which is a great analogy for students struggling with science and with math. These two subjects especially need a strong background understanding in old concepts before moving onto new ones. I hope to use analogies, such as the one above, and even personal stories to help relate the information directly to the students. By showing the students directly how they can play the game of school but still not succeed, I will hopefully gain their attention and respect. I believe that students could also benefit from reading the Game of School, or something similar. I could make up a list of “You Know You’re A Teacher When…” and list various things that students do to play the game of school. This can also be flipped onto the teachers.
I will always try my hardest to pay attention to students’ answers and make work meaningful. I do not understand busywork, nor do I understand the need for homework every night of the week. I believe that the assignments I give out for students should be very straightforward and always useful. I will stay away from assignments for the sake of needed to fill a grade book, since I would like to use participation points in the grading system. This will also diminish my busywork for the students.
Overall, I believe that the Game of School was a great article to summarize all the techniques we have learned over the years and to view them in the context of a student. We always learn about the theories of teaching, this helped us learned about what isn’t written in a textbook. Students are not going to be motivated. This is something that we should always think about. This does not mean that we as teachers should not be motivated also; in fact it means the opposite. As motivated and engaging teachers, we are the first line of defense in stopping the game of school from being a repeating pattern and also in getting our students the education they deserve.
When I was in high school phones did not have Internet readily available yet. Texting was the new “thing” though and teachers were constantly yelling at us to stop and to put our phones away. All of these phones had hard loud buttons and sometimes a flip screen, which would make noise when you opened it, but none of this stopped us. Eventually we learned to type while looking up and holding the screen at an angle so they could not see the glow. Also, we began messaging each other pictures of the homework sheets so we could finish it during lunch period easier. I also remember in high school I had one teacher who gave us check marks on every assignment. My friend wrote something along the lines of “and then Jay Z and Justin Timberlake became presidents” in one of her assignments and the teacher did not notice, she still got a check. This really showed me that the assignments did not matter, and I filled out the rest of them with as little effort as needed.
I see some of the same things happening in class today. Surprisingly, there is very little texting. I mainly see twitter-ing, facebook-ing, and even pinterest-ing to distract the students from the classroom. Phones are not supposed to be used in school, for social or Internet purposes. The science classroom I am in has computers surrounding the room to connect to the Internet. Also I witnessed students incorrectly filling out their homework. They will have the teacher check their sheet, and pass it to another student who will write their name on top and pretend it is theirs. They often get caught, but I wonder how many times a class this occurs? I believe that Westerly High School definitely fits some of the stereotypes in the GOS, as explained above. Though the students that I observe are in the 9th grade, I believe that they are catching onto the game quickly.
I stopped playing the GOS when I realized that my future was depending on my grades. I was talking to my cousin, who had just been rejecting from all of his top 4 colleges, who told me he wished he just tried harder his freshman year in high school. His average was a 94 and that was not good enough for him. This was my wake up call. I was always a high B’s student, but after hearing how having a 94 average can still hold you back from your dreams, I began to work harder. I hope to somehow help the students to understand that although school may seem like a game, only pretending to learn really does affect you in the long run. You need to pour the foundation before you build a house, which is a great analogy for students struggling with science and with math. These two subjects especially need a strong background understanding in old concepts before moving onto new ones. I hope to use analogies, such as the one above, and even personal stories to help relate the information directly to the students. By showing the students directly how they can play the game of school but still not succeed, I will hopefully gain their attention and respect. I believe that students could also benefit from reading the Game of School, or something similar. I could make up a list of “You Know You’re A Teacher When…” and list various things that students do to play the game of school. This can also be flipped onto the teachers.
I will always try my hardest to pay attention to students’ answers and make work meaningful. I do not understand busywork, nor do I understand the need for homework every night of the week. I believe that the assignments I give out for students should be very straightforward and always useful. I will stay away from assignments for the sake of needed to fill a grade book, since I would like to use participation points in the grading system. This will also diminish my busywork for the students.
Overall, I believe that the Game of School was a great article to summarize all the techniques we have learned over the years and to view them in the context of a student. We always learn about the theories of teaching, this helped us learned about what isn’t written in a textbook. Students are not going to be motivated. This is something that we should always think about. This does not mean that we as teachers should not be motivated also; in fact it means the opposite. As motivated and engaging teachers, we are the first line of defense in stopping the game of school from being a repeating pattern and also in getting our students the education they deserve.